Lenovo K9 first unboxing and first impressions: the comeback kid

The last smartphone Lenovo launched in India was the K8 Plus. That was in September. Of 2017. While its sub-brand Motorola has continued to release smartphones in the country, Lenovo is now attempting a comeback with two devices – the K9 and A5. The Lenovo K9 is the more premium of the two, and boasts dual front and rear cameras. I spent some quality time with the phone ahead of the launch, and here’s what you can expect.

Opening up the retail box of the Lenovo K9, you’ll find the smartphone right on top. Underneath, you get a 5V 2A wall charger, USB Type-C cable and SIM ejector tool. Apart from this, you’ll also find the quick start guide and warranty information, as well as a clear TPU case, which is always a welcome addition.

Coming to the device itself, the Lenovo K9 is quite a good-looking phone. It’s slim and rectangular in shape, and features a glass back panel, available in a choice of black or blue hues. While the use of glass lends a premium appeal, it comes with the usual side effects of being slippery and a smudge magnet. You’ll definitely want to use a case with this phone. The display is a 5.7-inch HD+ panel with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The screen outputs sharp text and good brightness levels, and the viewing angles are decent as well. Above the display you’ll find the dual selfie cameras in a 13MP+5MP configuration, along with an LED flash. The earpiece and sensors are also placed up top.

The right spine features a textured power button which is easy to locate, and dedicated volume up and down keys instead of a rocker. The left edge is home to the SIM card tray, which offers a hybrid dual-SIM setup. The bottom edge houses the loudspeaker, 3.5mm audio jack, microphone and a USB Type-C port. On the back panel, you’ll find dual cameras in a 13MP+5MP, along with an LED flash. A circular fingerprint sensor and Lenovo branding are also present on the rear. The camera app seems a tad laggy, especially when you use the bokeh mode. There seemed to be a bit of grain in images shot indoors as well. These findings are based on my initial usage, so I’ll reserve my final judgement for the review.

Lenovo K9 image gallery

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Powering the Lenovo K9 is an octa-core MediaTek Helio P22 processor, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Out of the box, you’ll get about 24GB of free space. The battery on the device is a 3,000mAh unit. The K9 seemed pretty smooth during my brief usage, although navigating the multi-tasking menu was a bit slow. The device runs Android 8.1 Oreo with a custom UI on top. The user interface is pretty close to stock Android, but you do get a different camera app, gestures and a few other enhancements. UCBrowser comes pre-loaded, as do a bunch of games, which you can uninstall if you prefer. For some reason, the K9 has only one wallpaper available, which I found odd.

While the Lenovo K9 might interest users with its quad-cameras and premium build, we’ll have to wait and see how the device holds up in day-to-day performance. Stay tuned for our review for more details.

Ketaki has over 9 years experience writing on tech, having worked at the Hindu Business Line earlier. Based in Bangalore, her location keeps her away from most of the chaos at 91mobiles HQ. When she's not editing or writing, Ketaki spends her time entertaining her dog Zoe, binge-watching Netflix and reading fantasy fiction.